ABSTRACT
Indiana has recently implemented a nationally recognized WWW based financial decision support system for the 8 campus IU system. Called the Financial Data Retrieval System (FDRS), it is a robust, high functionality, user friendly environment that has produced some dramatic outcomes at the institution. It has improved information access to the point where the usual barriers to data access, (physical, technical, and software) have been overcome and the real issues now are education of the campus users with respect to data content and organizational concerns about this new highly accessible data warehouse. The system replaces the traditional database front end software and its associated middleware dimensions with the now familiar Web browser and standards driven database access methods.
Campus units are now beginning to redesign (or even eliminate) locally maintained shadow system in favor of this environment with potential savings in administrative support. The FDRS is a major element in the re-engineering of administrative processes at Indiana.
This application has been featured recently in two major national trade journals as an innovative use of technology to meet concrete service needs.
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